Role of 3D Printers in ATM skimming

You love traveling and exploring new destinations, don’t you? When you are traveling, having liquid cash is extremely important and for this, the nearest ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is your best pal. You can withdraw money from an ATM any time, round-the-clock. Sounds so convenient, right? Amidst all this, have you ever thought that using an ATM to withdraw money could actually lead you to compromise on your security?

You might have read or heard about incidents related to ATM skimming. Do you realize that the slot you are using to swipe your ATM card might have an ATM skimmer to read and copy all your card details? Do you still feel safe using an ATM?

You also might be surprised to know that the latest technology of 3D printing is the prime helping hand in this. Security blogger Krebs reported in his latest blog that four men were accused by the Texas federal court for using ATM skimmers, and the technology involved in this was 3D printers. In this particular case, 3D printers were used to create the skimmers, which read information from the cards inserted.

Ben Knieff, director of product marketing at financial crime consultancy NICE Actimize, told Credit Union Times, “3D printers have the ability to produce skimmers very quickly and inexpensively. Lower budget criminals now can afford this technology.”

Supporting a similar opinion, iMaterialise’s Franky De Schouwer elaborated how a 3D printer could impact skimmer manufacturing: “I don’t think it would be that difficult to create an ATM skimmer with a 3D printer... For someone like, let’s say an industrial designer, it’s not harder than designing any other technical piece.”

Since 3D printers have been effectively used to create skimmers, it makes us wonder whether or not the advent of this latest technology is a boon. Do you still feel safe with 3D printers around?